Abraham Cruzvillegas: The Hyundai Commission

“When I say what I wanted to do here, it was an idea like having a piece of land that is empty…Just having something that is empty so you can drop your ideas something can grow.” - Abraham Cruzvillegas

Since 2000, Tate Modern Turbine Hall has exhibited many large-scale contemporary art installations and works. Beginning in 2015, the gallery collaborated with Hyundai Motor, opening the first Hyundai Commission. Abraham Cruzvillegas was the first Hyundai Commission artist to create on-site in the Turbine Hall.

The large installation Empty Lot, composed of 240 wooden planters, was filled with soil collected from parks and gardens across London. Around Tate, Cruzvillegas gathered ready-made objects to create lamp posts illuminating the soil. The inspiration for this work comes from Cruzvillegas’s migration experience. In the 1960s, his parents and local residents moved from rural Mexico to the city; at that time, living conditions were harsh and life was poor. These immigrants from the countryside used discarded materials to stabilize building structures, overcoming environmental limitations. Empty Lot is a place without any planting or production. With time and the involvement of viewers, the work gradually undergoes different changes. It explores issues of the city and the environment, as well as ideas about chance, change, and hope. Visitors can look out over the entire work from above the hall, or move through the structure beneath the installation.